Okay...I know the thread title sounds like an invite to flame or piss on the US presidency some more, but that's not my intention here. So let's get a few things clear first:
This isn't about the Iran war (though I'll use it in examples below). It's not about policies. And though I can't avoid it being politics, it's not aimed at damaging the ruling party (hint: they'll remain in power regardless). It's not even about Trump's personality on other aspects. Meaning: disregard his ego for this thread.
What I want to talk about is his health. I've seen a couple calls for "25th amendment" in my feed recently, but my feed carries my personal bias. Nonetheless, there are some interesting observations.
For one: his physical. Around the time of his previous absence, there were pictures shown of his mouth hanging agape on his right side, which observers claim was a symptom of a stroke. There are regular remarks on his colored hands and swollen ankles. To me, this is cherry picking. Yes, I recognize the agape mouth from my 100 year old grandma, but that doesn't mean I automatically believe the given context. For someone who's been followed nearly 24/7, it's not that hard to make a picture in an accidentally less flattering moment.
The excuse that the hand color is due to "shaking too many hands" is, however, bullshit. I'm not making comments on the indication, but the attempt to distract it is, simply put, worse. For the ankles, I mostly consider it ironic that Trump mocked Biden on the way he walks while nowadays I feel like Trump's standard way of walking is at least as bad if not worse.
But that's just the physical. Verbal is more on the nose. Ever tried reading a written transcript of something he said? He has the tendency of entering a sentence mid-sentence, and sometimes even doubling down with yet another sentence within that one. I won't say I've never had it happen myself, but with him it's almost literally everytime he speaks. And it's not like there's a shortage of footage here. To make matters worse: those inline sentences are often barely related to what he initially wanted to say, which means that he can go on tangents that don't have anything to do with the original message. Within just a couple sentences, he can go from the war in Iran to how licorice used to be made with real sugar instead of sweeteners (I've made this one up, but it's not even an exagerration).
...which, as a bonus, highlights something else of his age: nostalgia. It might be me, but whenever he goes off on a tangent, it's about something from last century. Apparently, whenever "someone comes up to him with tears in their eyes", it's to remark how everything was better in the 20th century. I used to mock this trend ("he's surrounding himself with all the billionaires he's giving tax breaks and yet they still liked the old days???"), but ever since I got married I've got a creepier suspicion(1): these people aren't real...BUT HE THINKS THEY ARE! This apparently isn't as farfetched, or even uncommon, as it may sound, but that doesn't make it less scary.
But anyway...third strike: his memory. Or what remains of it. Verbal flubbers aren't uncommon with any president ("covfefe", anyone?
), but I'd say I've seen him decline in this department for around 2-3 years now. But it's been accelerating in the last couple of months. It used to me missing names of important (but, admitted, harder to pronounce) foreign leaders. But at the start of his presidency Tim Cook got renamed to Tim Apple, calling Carney a governor is brushed aside as "a mistake" (he's the prime minister of Canada...a land you're implying to annex!) and accidentally pointing to Carroll, thinking it was his wife on a picture on a trial is...well...a rather costly mistake.
The communication regarding Iran would be hilarious if it wasn't so damn serious. His truth social page contains more misinformation about the state of the war than anything else. Anything he posts there is almost immediately rebuked by Iran...and as much as I dislike to say it: they've proven more trustworthy. It's not good news, but at least it's the truth.
Sure, some news outlets spin this as 3D, 4D or even 5D chess (no, really...all of those), but what potential advantage is there in lying to the press saying that Vance is on his way to Pakistan...when he just arrives on the white house? Answer: there isn't. Because it's not propaganda but a mistake. And if that's a mistake...who's to say that these "I'm not extending the ceasefire", "I'm extending the ceasefire" messages mean that Trump himself doesn't know what he's doing?
Before the elections (or even during his first presidency), doctors and psychiatrists held off making statements, saying things like "I can't make claims on someone I've not personally diagnosed". That general concensus is turning. I've read articles on doctors who now diagnose him on the basis that no, they've not had a personal investigation...but they had far more footage to investigate from than from "all of my other patients combined" (ask, and I'll search for the source on that one).
And what's trending right now? That Trump's been missing for days again (aside from phone interviews). Just a regular day in a normal presidency. For Trump, it's an exception. And with an ongoing war that's going anything but planned (presuming there was a plan), that's a red flag. Dude could be in treatment right now for matters that would excuse him for literally any other job.
So...long winded, but...that's my take. I think he should be removed for that 25th amendment thing I've heard about. And yes: if Biden, pope Leo, or even myself was doing all this in a situation like this, I would absolutely say the same. What's your take on it?
(1): my then 99-year old grandma obviously isn't the sharpest anymore. She's nice and talks, but barely knows who you are. We knew that. But at our wedding, we noticed she was also talking when nobody was with her at that time. She later said something indicating she was talking to her husband...even though grandpa's been gone for around 20 years now.
This isn't about the Iran war (though I'll use it in examples below). It's not about policies. And though I can't avoid it being politics, it's not aimed at damaging the ruling party (hint: they'll remain in power regardless). It's not even about Trump's personality on other aspects. Meaning: disregard his ego for this thread.
What I want to talk about is his health. I've seen a couple calls for "25th amendment" in my feed recently, but my feed carries my personal bias. Nonetheless, there are some interesting observations.
For one: his physical. Around the time of his previous absence, there were pictures shown of his mouth hanging agape on his right side, which observers claim was a symptom of a stroke. There are regular remarks on his colored hands and swollen ankles. To me, this is cherry picking. Yes, I recognize the agape mouth from my 100 year old grandma, but that doesn't mean I automatically believe the given context. For someone who's been followed nearly 24/7, it's not that hard to make a picture in an accidentally less flattering moment.
The excuse that the hand color is due to "shaking too many hands" is, however, bullshit. I'm not making comments on the indication, but the attempt to distract it is, simply put, worse. For the ankles, I mostly consider it ironic that Trump mocked Biden on the way he walks while nowadays I feel like Trump's standard way of walking is at least as bad if not worse.
But that's just the physical. Verbal is more on the nose. Ever tried reading a written transcript of something he said? He has the tendency of entering a sentence mid-sentence, and sometimes even doubling down with yet another sentence within that one. I won't say I've never had it happen myself, but with him it's almost literally everytime he speaks. And it's not like there's a shortage of footage here. To make matters worse: those inline sentences are often barely related to what he initially wanted to say, which means that he can go on tangents that don't have anything to do with the original message. Within just a couple sentences, he can go from the war in Iran to how licorice used to be made with real sugar instead of sweeteners (I've made this one up, but it's not even an exagerration).
...which, as a bonus, highlights something else of his age: nostalgia. It might be me, but whenever he goes off on a tangent, it's about something from last century. Apparently, whenever "someone comes up to him with tears in their eyes", it's to remark how everything was better in the 20th century. I used to mock this trend ("he's surrounding himself with all the billionaires he's giving tax breaks and yet they still liked the old days???"), but ever since I got married I've got a creepier suspicion(1): these people aren't real...BUT HE THINKS THEY ARE! This apparently isn't as farfetched, or even uncommon, as it may sound, but that doesn't make it less scary.
But anyway...third strike: his memory. Or what remains of it. Verbal flubbers aren't uncommon with any president ("covfefe", anyone?
), but I'd say I've seen him decline in this department for around 2-3 years now. But it's been accelerating in the last couple of months. It used to me missing names of important (but, admitted, harder to pronounce) foreign leaders. But at the start of his presidency Tim Cook got renamed to Tim Apple, calling Carney a governor is brushed aside as "a mistake" (he's the prime minister of Canada...a land you're implying to annex!) and accidentally pointing to Carroll, thinking it was his wife on a picture on a trial is...well...a rather costly mistake.The communication regarding Iran would be hilarious if it wasn't so damn serious. His truth social page contains more misinformation about the state of the war than anything else. Anything he posts there is almost immediately rebuked by Iran...and as much as I dislike to say it: they've proven more trustworthy. It's not good news, but at least it's the truth.
Sure, some news outlets spin this as 3D, 4D or even 5D chess (no, really...all of those), but what potential advantage is there in lying to the press saying that Vance is on his way to Pakistan...when he just arrives on the white house? Answer: there isn't. Because it's not propaganda but a mistake. And if that's a mistake...who's to say that these "I'm not extending the ceasefire", "I'm extending the ceasefire" messages mean that Trump himself doesn't know what he's doing?
Before the elections (or even during his first presidency), doctors and psychiatrists held off making statements, saying things like "I can't make claims on someone I've not personally diagnosed". That general concensus is turning. I've read articles on doctors who now diagnose him on the basis that no, they've not had a personal investigation...but they had far more footage to investigate from than from "all of my other patients combined" (ask, and I'll search for the source on that one).
And what's trending right now? That Trump's been missing for days again (aside from phone interviews). Just a regular day in a normal presidency. For Trump, it's an exception. And with an ongoing war that's going anything but planned (presuming there was a plan), that's a red flag. Dude could be in treatment right now for matters that would excuse him for literally any other job.
So...long winded, but...that's my take. I think he should be removed for that 25th amendment thing I've heard about. And yes: if Biden, pope Leo, or even myself was doing all this in a situation like this, I would absolutely say the same. What's your take on it?
(1): my then 99-year old grandma obviously isn't the sharpest anymore. She's nice and talks, but barely knows who you are. We knew that. But at our wedding, we noticed she was also talking when nobody was with her at that time. She later said something indicating she was talking to her husband...even though grandpa's been gone for around 20 years now.
